Leavitt’s involvement with the hand-lettered book began with her early love of reading. She holds degrees in both biology and art and has studied lettering and bookbinding in the United States and Great Britain. Since 1985 she has created over 100 unique, contemporary illuminated manuscript books and 25 edition and collaborative books filled with lettering, poetry, and colorful painting. Her work is represented in public and private collections around the world including, the Houghton Library at Harvard, the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, the Special Collections Library at the University of Western Michigan, Kalamazoo, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

She has received several Good Idea Grants from the Maine Arts Commission for research into her craft including the production of writing quills in a project entitled “Cutting a Thousand Quills” and “A Legacy of Lettering,” a calligraphic history of the Guild of Book Workers, which was presented in New York City at the 100th anniversary of the Guild of Book Workers in 2006. In 2002 she received the Stephen Harvard Award for book design from the Baxter Society. Nancy is a 2016 recipient of the Maryann Hartman Award given annually to Maine Women for their "work achievement, spirit, and zest for life".

About my book work:There are four experiences which have shaped my work as an artist: growing up in a garden, access to a public library, a good elementary school education, and a B.A. in Biology. My love of nature and learning the rewards of hard work began in my parent’s garden. The public library nourished my love of reading and my early elementary education cemented my enduring love of the alphabet and learning. And, I could not have had a better background in art than the one I had in biology. The sciences helped me hone my visual skills through observation, taught me to be precise, and rewarded me for being curious.